Support Mike’s Place and the Graduate Student Association (GSA)

By Codie Fortin Lalonde, PhD Candidate ALDS, SALaDS Finance and Communications Coordinator and GSA council representative

(SALaDS is the Graduate Student Society for Students of Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies.)

Please support Mike’s Place this summer! Located on the 2nd floor of the University Centre, Mike’s Place has been a Carleton staple for 47 years. Mike’s Place offers a full range of vegetarian, vegan, halal, gluten-free options and non-alcoholic options, and provides an inclusive and social space for student organizations, societies, clubs, and events, hosts a weekly trivia night (Wednesdays), and hosts post-game nacho night for the graduate student softball league. Mike’s Place has always graciously and responsibly hosted SALaDS (the ALDS graduate student society) events including our monthly Talks & Tipples, post-annual symposium celebration, grad student Meet and Greets and End-of-Term Socials (among others).

As many of you are likely aware, many of the changes and funding cutbacks from the Ford Government are having a large impact on student unions and student run services on campuses across Ontario. Due to the slated ‘student choice initiative’, student fees that are not considered essential will now be opt-in rather than bundled with tuition fees. At Carleton, these ‘non-essential fees’ include student union levies (CUSA and the GSA), student and volunteer run newspapers (The Charlatan and the Leveler) and radio station (CKCU), OPIRG-Carleton (social justice research and action), and more. On top of this, OSAP will no longer cover these fees even if one wants to opt in to them, leaving the financial burden with the student. If you know anything about these student services, you know that they provide safe and welcoming spaces for students (both domestic and international), and lobby for students and education both generally and in specific cases.

Given the scope of these cuts, student services are now scrambling to scrimp and save for the financial blow being leveled at them come the next school year. With no guaranteed funding, many of these services may have to run limited services or end up closing altogether. At first, the GSA executive opted to close Mike’s Place for the summer in order to avoid financial loss. However, the graduate student council (including myself) overturned this decision on Thursday, April 18th to prevent the layoffs of 17 graduate student staff.

Mike’s Place typically incurs financial losses in the summer due to lack of numbers on campus. However, given that Oliver’s (the undergraduate student pub) is also closing for the summer, Mike’s Place now has an opportunity to operate at cost. In order to do this, however, Mike’s Place needs the support of students, staff, and faculty on campus. Please consider bringing your business to Mike’s Place whenever possible this summer. Mike’s Place can accommodate large or small groups, takes reservations, and serves take-out food.

Finally, when registering for the upcoming school year, please opt-in to these student services. If you would like more information about what each of these services provide, you can check out the links above, chat with me in the grad lounge or send me an email at codie.fortinlalonde@carleton.ca

Mike's Place logo

For more information on the funding cuts, you can check out these articles:

Thursday, May 2, 2019  |  Categories: News